


When your back's against the ropes

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Darwin Lives, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Armando Muñoz/Alex Summers, Minor Injuries, Swearing, Trans Hank McCoy, Trans Male Character, Trust, binder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21820627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: When Hank's injured, Alex is absolutely the last person he wants to see.
Relationships: Hank McCoy & Alex Summers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30
Collections: Secret Mutant Madness 2019





	When your back's against the ropes

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [lavenderlotion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion) in the [secret_mutant_madness_2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/secret_mutant_madness_2019) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Anything soft where Hank is a trans man.

Hank swore, staring at the house in the distance, and clutching at his ankle, shame flooding him. He couldn't believe he'd been this clumsy, and now... well, his ribs felt like they were on fire, his ankle was screaming, and he was a good five minutes walk from the house. Which given he thought he'd probably be crawling might as well be several hours. 

The thing was, his adaptation gave him strength, and his weird 'clown feet'. But it didn't make him any better at handling pain. So jagged rocks still hurt. And after a lifetime where his feet had been forced into tiny dainty shoes, which had stung and made him cry because 'no man will want you like that' and 'little girls should be delicate', well, he wasn't used to being barefoot. So he had fallen, and now his leg was burning, and... well, normally he would have shouted for Charles, but Erik had taken Charles to bed with a migraine earlier. That left Raven, (gone shopping with Moira), Moira (gone shopping with Raven), Sean (last seen baking some of his brownies, and so likely to be out of action for the afternoon), Darwin (last seen attempting to flirt with Alex), and Alex (last seen attempting to ignore that Darwin was flirting with him). Of all of them, the best option would be Darwin. He'd probably at least help Hank down to the lab to get stuff sorted, without the kind of comments Alex would make.

So Hank tried to brace himself, to get back. He got halfway up, and collapsed back down, whimpering. Crawling it was then. He'd get there. He'd get back, he had to, and if Charles wasn't feeling well he wouldn't want to worry him. 

Crawling across the grounds of the mansion, with bruised ribs and a probably broken ankle, was definitely not a highlight of Hank's life. He'd had worse moments, but this wasn't making a top ten favourite moments list any time soon. He couldn't help feeling exposed. He was glad that all the species of pterosaur that would pose a threat to a human had gone extinct. He had to kept pausing and breaking off for a bit, because it hurt, and he was always bad at ignoring pain.

He was halfway back, and starting to shiver, when he heard someone approach.

"The fuck you doing over here, Bozo?" Alex asked, sneering down at him, and Hank curled up slightly, bracing himself for a kick to already damaged ribs.

Alex squatted down in front of him.  
"You look like shit."

"Think my ankle's sprained... rib..bruised at least..."

"Well, fuck," Alex said, and there was something approaching sympathy in his voice. "Come on, let's get you inside, you're gonna freeze out here." He paused, trying to work out how to best support Hank's weight. "You need me to get Darwin? He knows medical shit."

"I'll be fine if I can get to the lab," Hank reassured, because he was already causing enough problems just in this condition. Alex managed to half swing him up over his shoulder, supporting his weight so that he could limp along on his undamaged foot.

"Thanks," Hank found himself saying, as Alex helped him the rest of the way. "You...didn't have to help me."

"I wasn't fucking gonna leave you dying in the yard." Alex glared at him. "You ain't my favorite person, Bozo, but I'm not leaving you out there."

"Well, thank you." Hank slumped slightly in Alex's hold, letting the other man lead him down to the basement. 

Once there, Alex propped him up on the medical bed, and went to examine Hank's ankle, rolling up the cuff of his pants.  
"Let's take a look, see if it's bad."

Hank blinked, but nodded. This was the most he'd heard Alex say to anyone that wasn't Darwin or Charles. He hissed as his foot was moved slightly, revealing deep bruising, the ankle already swollen.

He bent his leg, leaning forwards to take a closer look, and then hissed in pain.

"Chest bad, huh?" Alex asked, looking at him in concern. 

Hank nodded, fumbling open his shirt, and then realising that he shouldn't have done that. His face burned with embarrassment at the thought of Alex telling everyone, finding a new reason to be a dick and make every moment of his life hell. He paused, and Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Won't be nothing I've not seen before."

Hank bit back an answer to that, undoing his shirt and shoving it down.

Alex stared at the bandages tied tightly around his chest, a frown flicking across his face.  
"You hurt already?"

"They're not for that." Hank admitted, and saw the moment Alex realised, his eyes lighting up for a moment in realisation as he nodded.

"Okay." Alex muttered. "But if it's bruised, you gotta take a look right?" he paused. "I got one of the vests that Charles got me. Fancy material, sports stuff. Feels like one of Darwin's hugs." Alex laughed, but Hank could see the vulnerability in those eyes, realised Alex was really trying to help. 

Hank nodded slowly.

"Well, you can have that. I'll go grab it. Sure smart guy like you can do something with it to... you know." He gestured at the bandages. "Cos that looks like it hurts."

"A bit." Hank admitted. "Thanks."

"Whatever. You okay?"

"Yes." Hank answered, glancing at Alex. "I... I'll be alright now."

"Awesome. I'll see you around." Alex walked off. 

Hank set about bandaging his ankle, ignoring the pain - there was no serious injury, it was mostly discomfort. He'd examined his ribs, and was in the process of rebinding, when Alex walked in. 

Hank crossed his arms across his chest, curling in a defensive ball.  
"Goodness sake Alex, I was getting dressed!"

"I used to be in prison. I've seen loadsa guys naked," Alex told him, and then threw a bundle of fabric at him. "There's the shirt, Bozo. Don't fucking fall over next time."

He walked off.

Hank rolled his eyes, wishing he could lock doors as dramatically as Erik did, before he unfolded the vest.

Inside, Alex had left a bar of chocolate and a note:  
'For the most annoying man I know.'

His chest and ankle still hurt, but Hank couldn't help smiling.


End file.
